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Form VIII: Kendosu
Kendosu, or the Way of the Varactyl, was a form of swordplay created by Jedi Knight Scott Borek in 14 BBY. Based on Republic records and personal account, the Form was conceived in 21 BBY to give the Jedi an advantage in combat against the Sith during the Great Galactic War. It had only been mastered by Borek by the time it was created and recognized, due to the physical ability and difficulty that was involved in truly mastering it; the events that took place in 14 BBY also prevented it from being taught en masse. Nevertheless, it was officially recognized by the Jedi Order that same year. Description Form VIII: Kendosu, or the Way of the Varactyl, was a new swordplay style developed during the Great Galactic War by Jedi Knight Scott Borek. While Form II excelled at blade-to-blade combat, and more importantly relied on precision, it did not have the necessary strength to sustain itself in a duel and it was practically useless against blaster bolts and suffered accordingly when blasters came into prominence. Djem So did not have the necessary maneuverability or speed and Ataru lacked the precision and strength needed while it demanded massive amounts of stamina to master. To defeat these deficiencies and to give the advantage of unfamiliarity in combat, Form VIII: Kendosu was created. Since blasters were extremely prevalent, the Form borrowed its defensive style from Form III: Soresu because the designer knew that utilizing a strong defense against blaster-wielding opponents was imperative. Although Form III focused on the defensive side of combat, it was the offensive side of Kendosu that caused it to be considered a new form of swordplay. Borek knew that it had problems against strength-based duelists and, depending on the user, against quick opponents. He started to focus on the development of the aggressive portion of his new form. Kendosu, relied mainly on speed for attack, it used its superior speed to confuse and overwhelm the opponent's mind or defense. This extra speed generated power not seen in other forms aside from Djem So. This allowed the user to focus on his strikes to enhance his precision and on his movement, two things that were weaknesses with Djem So. The Form was also unique for purposely relying on the user's talent in dueling and swordplay, rather than augmenting the user's ability with the Force, this also gave the duelist the advantage of using the Force for other things during the duel, such as hurling objects. A slight problem could have occurred if the user did not have strong stamina, as it required a lot of energy to use because of the speed foundation it was built upon. Nevertheless, this weakness was not as noticeable as it would have been with an Ataru practitioner. The style used a lot of Feints and traps to force the opponent off-balance or out of position for an advantageous strike. Kendosu bladework was described as chaotic, unwieldy or confusing. Extremely fast, but never moving the blade a millimeter more than necessary. It also worked on trying to frustrate the opponent into lashing out, so the enemy would tire faster. While Kendosu was tiring and inefficient, many said that duels lasted only a short time due to its tactics and fundamentals which negated this side effect. Philosophy The philosophy of Kendosu was described as being the "Perfect storm." The practitioners combined strength and speed created the "chaotic" and "stormy" shell or edge of the storm, while the being remained peaceful and focused in their mindset/eye of the storm. This created what many Jedi called "a force to be reckoned with" or a "Perfect Storm". The foundation of the form was built on speed. Practitioners *Scott Borek Strength/ Weakness Ratings Form VIII, was offensive, relying on speed and strength to overwhelm the opponent as well as counter-attack. The defense and precision varied on the strength of the user. However, it more than compensated with the inclusion of various elements of Soresu, it created a serviceable barrier from attack, making the user almost unbeatable. It was not very strong against strength-based offenses, or extremely precise offenses. Although those could be conquered, especially the precise practitioners, if augmented by the Force or the users own strength, precision, etc. {| class="wikitable" width="95%" border="1" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" align="center" |- ! width=10%| Action ! width=20%| Standard ! width=20%| Speed ! width=20%| Power ! width=20%| Precision |- | Attack|| Variable|| Excellent|| Excellent|| Variable |- | Defense|| Above Average|| Variable|| Weak || Moderate |- Behind the scenes The name Kendosu is a combination of Kendo and Kenjutsu, two forms of Japanese martial art sword fighting or 'sword arts'. Both Kendo and Kenjutsu came from Japan's middle ages and were used by samurai of that time, samurai were a major inspiration for George Lucas when he created the Jedi. Kendosu, Form VIII Kendosu, Form VIII